Presentation Description

Factors Affecting International Staffing. Approaches to International Staffing - Transfer of Staff for
International Business Activities
Reasons For International Assignments
Types of International Assignments
Short term
Long term
The traditional expatriate assignment
Non-standard Assignments
Commuter assignments
Rotational assignments
Contractual assignments
Virtual assignments
Roles of an Expatriate
Roles of Non-expatriates
Role of Corporate HR Function

Slide 6:

Advantages:
To ensure new subsidiary complies with overall corporate objectives and policies
Has the required level of competence Disadvantages:
Limits the promotion opportunities of HCNs, leading to reduced productivity and increased turnover among the HCNs
Longer time for PCNs to adapt to host countries, leading to errors and poor decisions being made
High cost 8/17/2010 mOin - PGP/SS/09-11/HR 6

Slide 7:

Polycentric
Each subsidiary is a distinct national entity with some decision-making autonomy;
HCNs manage subsidiaries who are seldom promoted to HQ positions;
PCNs rarely transferred to subsidiary positions. 8/17/2010 mOin - PGP/SS/09-11/HR 7

Slide 8:

Advantages:
Employment of HCNs eliminates language barriers, reduces the need for cultural awareness training programs
Employment of HCNs allows a multinational company to take a lower profile in sensitive political situations
Employment of HCNs is less expensive
Employment of HCNs gives continuity to the management of foreign subsidiaries (lower turnover of key managers) Disadvantages:
Difficult to bridge the gap between HCN subsidiary managers and PCN managers at headquarters ( language barriers, conflicting national loyalties, cultural differences)
HCN managers have limited opportunities to gain experience outside their own country
PCN managers have limited opportunities to gain international experience
Resource allocation and strategic decision making will be constrained when headquarter is filled only by PCNs who have limited exposure to international assignment 8/17/2010 mOin - PGP/SS/09-11/HR 8

Slide 9:

Geocentric
A global approach - worldwide integration;
View that each part of the organization makes a unique contribution;
Nationality is ignored in favor of ability:
Best person for the job;
Color of passport does not matter when it comes to rewards, promotion and development. 8/17/2010 mOin - PGP/SS/09-11/HR 9

Slide 10:

Advantages:
Ability of the firm to develop an international executive team
Overcomes the federation drawback of the polycentric approach
Support cooperation and resource sharing across units Disadvantage:
Host government may use immigration controls in order to increase HCNs employment
Expensive to implement due to increased training and relocation costs
Large numbers of PCNs, HCNs, and TCNs need to be sent across borders
Reduced independence of subsidiary management 8/17/2010 mOin - PGP/SS/09-11/HR 10

Slide 11:

Slide 12:

Advantages:
Allow interaction between executives transferred to regional headquarters from subsidiaries in the region and PCNs posted to the regional headquarters
Provide some sensitivity to local conditions
Help the firm to move from a purely ethnocentric or polycentric approach to a geocentric approach Disadvantages:
Constrain the firm from taking a global stance
Staff’s career advancement still limited to regional headquarters, and not the parent country headquarters 8/17/2010 mOin - PGP/SS/09-11/HR 12

Slide 13:

Transfer of Staff for
International Business Activities Reasons for International Assignments
Types of International Assignments
Expatriate and Non-expatriates – their roles 8/17/2010 mOin - PGP/SS/09-11/HR 13

Slide 14:

Reasons For International Assignments
Position filling
Skills gap, launch of new endeavor, technology transfer
Management development
Training and development purposes, assisting in developing common corporate values
Organizational development
Need for control, transfer of knowledge, competence, procedures and practices 8/17/2010 mOin - PGP/SS/09-11/HR 14

Slide 15:

Types of International Assignments Short term: up to 3 months
Troubleshooting
Project supervision
A stopgap until a permanent arrangement is found
Extended: up to 1 year
May involve similar activities as short-term assignments
Long term: varies from 1 to 5 years
The traditional expatriate assignment 8/17/2010 mOin - PGP/SS/09-11/HR 15

Slide 16:

Non-standard Assignments Commuter assignments
Rotational assignments
Contractual assignments
Virtual assignments
Some of these arrangements assist in overcoming the high cost of international assignments but are not always effective substitutes for the traditional expatriate assignment. 8/17/2010 mOin - PGP/SS/09-11/HR 16

Slide 17:

Slide 18:

Roles of Non-expatriates People who travel internationally yet are not considered expatriates as they do not relocate to another country
- Road warriors, globetrotters, frequent fliers
Much of international business involves visits to foreign locations, e.g.
Sales staff attending trade fairs
Periodic visits to foreign operations 8/17/2010 mOin - PGP/SS/09-11/HR 18

Slide 19:

Non-expatriates cite the positives as:
A Glamorous life
Excitement and thrills of conducting business deals in foreign locations
Life style (top hotels, duty-free shopping, business class travel)
General exotic nature But they experience a High level of stress
Home and family issues
- Frequent absences
Work arrangements
- Domestic side of position still has to be attended to
Travel logistics
- waiting in airports, etc.
Health concerns
- Poor diet, lack of sleep, etc. 8/17/2010 mOin - PGP/SS/09-11/HR 19